


The Serpent's Children

by InterstellarVagabond



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Genderfluid Crowley (Good Omens), Light Angst, M/M, Other, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 03:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19862995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: "Since when have you been so good with children?" Aziraphale asked, and Crowley looked at him like he was an idiot which he sort of was."You remember that time I was a nanny, don't you?" He asked. "Not that that was the first time, I've taken care of dozens of kids.""This is the first I'm hearing of it… aside from Warlock I suppose…""You really don't pay attention to anything," Crowley said, his look of mild irritation replaced with a small grin as the child did indeed put on Crowley's sunglasses.Aziraphale remembers that Crowley is good with kids, and teases him into acknowledging it's always been that way since the beginning.





	The Serpent's Children

"That was absolutely terrible," Aziraphale groaned as they left the movie theater. 

"That's the point," Crowley said. "If you hadn't kept shushing me we could have made fun of it together."

He reached for Aziraphale's hand as they walked, taking a moment to be grateful for the little things they could do these days without fear of being seen. Aziraphale chuckled as Crowley happily swung their intertwined hands back and forth, and gave the demon's hand a little squeeze before returning to the argument at hand.

"It's rude!" Aziraphale said.

"Yeah, hypocrite." Crowley rolled his eyes behind dark lenses. "You've talked through every interesting movie, show, and play we've ever gone to. You were just scared of that old woman in the row in front of us that kept glaring."

"She was very intimidating," Aziraphale said. "And she did not like you one bit."

"Yeah, well I-" 

Crowley stopped mid-sentence, and stopped walking too. Aziraphale turned to see what had caught his attention, and was surprised to see a small child in overalls and a striped shirt, standing there with a hand on the hem of Crowley's jacket and a lost expression on his face.

"Oh, hello there," Crowley said.

"Oh dear, do you think he's lost?" Aziraphale asked nervously, hoping Crowley wouldn't be too angry about whatever sticky substance the child had no doubt transferred onto his jacket. Children were always sticky, it was one of the universal truths found across the ages. 

"Yeah, he is," Crowley said, and then he surprised Aziraphale by kneeling down to eye level with the child. "Is it alright if I pick you up?"

The child nodded quietly and reached out his arms. Crowley picked him up, resting him on one hip like a practiced mother who needed her other hand free.

"And where are you supposed to be, then?" Crowley asked, speaking to the child in a strange mix of the soft tone reserved for children and the straight forward manner meant for adults. 

Aziraphale's jaw almost dropped watching it. 

"Oh, you want to wear those?" Crowley asked as the child reached forward and pulled the sunglasses from his face. "That'd be a good look for you."

"Wha… Crowley?" Aziraphale stammered.

"What?" Crowley asked.

"Since when have you been so good with children?" Aziraphale asked, and Crowley looked at him like he was an idiot which he sort of was.

"You remember that time I was a nanny, don't you?" He asked. "Not that that was the first time, I've taken care of dozens of kids."

"This is the first I'm hearing of it… aside from Warlock I suppose…"

"You really don't pay attention to anything," Crowley said, his look of mild irritation replaced with a small grin as the child did indeed put on Crowley's sunglasses. 

"Well anyway," Aziraphale said, moving on with a wave of his hand. "What are we to do with this one in particular?"

"Keep him from playing in the street until someone comes for him," Crowley replied. 

Aziraphale was about to suggest they simply use a miracle to find the child's guardian when the child in question leaned close to Crowley's ear and started whispering. 

"Oh? No accounting for taste," Crowley answered him.

"What did he say?" Aziraphale asked.

"He likes your bowtie," Crowley said. 

"Oh, well, I'd say he has very good taste." Aziraphale beamed.

"Why are your eyes yellow?" The boy asked, seemingly over his nervous reticence.

"Because I didn't eat my vegetables when I was your age," Crowley said, and the boy giggled. 

Aziraphale felt a warm fondness spring up in his chest as he watched Crowley banter with the child, looking so calm and happy. Thinking back on it, he did remember him having a sort of affinity for children. Honestly, how could he forget stumbling upon Crowley and a host of young stowaways on the arc back during the flood? He'd heard crying and found the demon comforting a young girl down hidden away by barrels of animal food.

_ "But why? What did we do?" _

_ "You didn't do anything. Alright? Sometimes bad things happen and it's not your fault no matter what they might tell you. Hey, look here." Aziraphale spied as Crawly took the girl's hands in hers. "You've been strong, that's good, but you don't have to be right now alright? It's allowed to hurt. You're allowed to be sad and furious." _

_ Later, when all the children were asleep, some with their heads in Crawly's lap and others sprawled on the floor, Aziraphale approached and let the demon see him. _

_ "You here to throw us overboard?" She'd asked. _

_ "No," Aziraphale said. "I just thought you might like some company." _

_ Crawly quirked an eyebrow and grinned. "And would they approve of that, all them up there?" _

_ "No…" Aziraphale said nervously. "But… I'm sure they can't see through the rain clouds." _

_ Crawly's grin grew wider, and she gestured for Aziraphale to join her. The angel took a seat, careful not to disturb any of the children. _

_ "Would they approve of this? Down there?" He asked eventually. _

_ "Course they would," Crawly said. "I'm saving humans marked for death by the almighty, what could be more evil than that?" _

_ The baby lying in the crook of Crawly's arm started to cry, and the demon shushed it gently. She rocked it back and forth until the baby calmed again, and went back to sleep. Aziraphale swore for a moment he'd seen tears in Crawly's eyes too, but they were gone when the demon looked back at him. _

_ "Killing kids. I don't think that's ineffable at all," she said, voice full of disdain. "I can think of plenty of words to describe it…" _

"Oh thank god!" 

Aziraphale almost laughed at the irony of the women's cry as he was pulled from his memories. She ran to Crowley, out of breath. She looked young, and very scared. "Jason, I was so worried!"

Crowley transferred the boy into his mother's arms, taking his sunglasses back and slipping them on before the woman got a good look at him. 

"Thank you so much," the woman said, hugging her son tight. "I just looked away for a minute and… God I'm the worst mother…" she looked close to tears.

"Really? Cause I can think of worse," Crowley said. "Kids wander off. It happens."

"I should have just held his hand the whole time or… or something…" the woman said.

"He's your first, right?" Crowley asked.

"Yeah," she answered. 

"And you're on your own?"

"His… his dad left and my parents…" she blinked back tears. "Sorry, you've already helped a lot you don't want my sob story."

"On your own and no experience, that's hard," Crowley said softly. "And guilt won't fix anything, you've learned now and he's learned too. Right? Not going to give your mother a scare like that again?"

Jason nodded, and put his tiny arms around his mom's neck and buried his face in her hair. 

"Thank you, seriously," the woman said. "I don't know what I would have done."

"You'll be alright," Crowley said, and Aziraphale felt the power he was pouring into those words, convincing the universe to grow a little softer around the pair of humans, make things a little easier. 

As the woman and her child waved goodbye, Aziraphale took Crowley's arm and stood on his tiptoes to press a kiss against his cheek. 

"You really are very kind, you know," he said.

"Stop it," Crowley said, fake annoyance in his tone.

"Or maybe you just have a soft spot for this sort of thing," Aziraphale continued, beaming.

"Come on," Crowley huffed. He pushed his sunglasses firmly into place. "Look kids… kids don't deserve to be part of the whole 'good and evil' game. They didn't do anything yet, they're still learning and they're curious…"

"They ask questions," Aziraphale said quietly, and Crowley started a little, but quickly assumed a calm stance again as they walked.

"Yeah…" he said. "They do. They're not afraid to ask or say whatever they want… not till they get a bit older and get hurt a bit by how things work. There's… no real harm in delaying that hurt a bit I think…"

Aziraphale wondered if Crowley might take to that sort of thing now that he technically didn't have to tempt for a living anymore. The demon still acted like, well, a demon most of the time, causing trouble and driving entirely too fast and tempting Aziraphale whenever he could. Still, Crowley had told him once after a few drinks that 'demons weren't really any more evil than angels, just signed up for a different job.'

Now he had no job at all really, no affiliation save for Aziraphale. He could do whatever he wanted.

"I think it's sweet," Aziraphale said. "You still really care about them after all this time."

"Angel, I got them kicked out of the garden, remember?" Crowley said.

"Well I've been thinking… and I'm not entirely sure that was the bad thing after all," Aziraphale answered.

Crowley's lips twitched into half a smile before they composed themselves again. "Oh… shut up," he said, unable to hide his pleased tone. "You'll ruin my reputation with talk like that, claiming my best work was an act of  _ love _ ."

"Love, and maybe a little understanding, empathy, and rebellion," Aziraphale continued until Crowley gave him a sharp poke in the ribs to make him shut up.

"I was just causing trouble," Crowley said, but Aziraphale knew he was lying.

"Alright, dear," he said, leaning against Crowley as they walked. "Shall we get some dinner? My treat?"

"Well, if you're paying may as well," Crowley agreed.

They went off to find a restaurant, as a single mother came home to find that the groceries she'd left at the store when she saw her child was missing had somehow miraculously appeared at her front door.


End file.
